diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py
index e3f84a924..5036c8dfb 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
         self.reply(response, message)
 
     async def handle_exc(self, e: Exception, message: HumanChatMessage):
-        timestamp = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M:%S")
+        timestamp = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d-%H.%M.%S")
         log_path = Path(f"jupyter-ai-logs/generate-{timestamp}.log")
         log_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         with log_path.open("w") as log: